Ensuring
Value for Money

Value for Money underpins the delivery of the Group’s vision and key strategic aims, it ensures our services are as efficient and as effective as they can be, improving the services you receive.

Each year we produce a Value for Money self-assessment report which details the Group’s performance in this area highlighting our main achievements. This document also sets our goals for the forthcoming year through our Value for Money action plan. You can read this on our website at www.progressgroup.org.uk/vfm.

The following are some of our Value for Money highlights, we have:

  • Reviewed several existing contracts with a value of £3.9 million and have either maintained the existing cost, contained to a low cost increase and achieved savings of £0.2 million
  • Procured new contracts to provide a cost-effective solution and improved service provision to tenants
  • Invested in training and support for managers, which has resulted in a reduction in sickness absence and a cost reduction of lost time of £0.4 million (48%) across two years. This has meant we have had more employees available to provide services to customers.

An efficient lettings service

This year we have made significant improvements in the time taken to relet our homes.

By reviewing our processes, improving reporting and using new ways of advertising empty properties, we have reduced our average void time for our general needs and independent living properties by 10 days, to 24.3 days.

This means we can provide homes to those who need them more quickly, whilst reducing rent loss.

Our promise to you

Our Value for Money aims are driven by providing quality services to the satisfaction of our customers.

We are accountable to all of our customers and have an agreed set of service standards which set out what our commitments are, putting you at the centre of all that we do. All standards have been written in consultation with our customers. These standards act as our promise to you and enable you to judge how well we are doing.

This year we also met with a group of tenants to review the Customer Contact Charter. The group suggested improvements and provided ideas on the look of the document. It also helped us to understand what was important to tenants when they contact us.

Our service standards and customer charter can be found on our website here: www.progressgroup.org.uk/service-standards/